A merger has brought together a traders’ group and a residents’ group in Bournemouth.

Pokesdown traders and Pokesdown South Residents Association have joined forces.

They will now be Pokesdown Community Forum for Residents and Traders.

The first unified meeting will be at the Salvation Army Hall, Norwood Place, on Tuesday, May 8, at 7.30pm.

Caroline Read, owner of Scribe Tattooing and The Tattoo Parlour cafe, said: “Great things are happening in Pokesdown and they are being driven by the whole community.

“We all came to the realisation that traders and residents were on the same page so it would make sense to be on the same team.

“The fantastic feat performed by the residents in getting a lottery grant to transform the green is to be complimented by the traders supporting and organising lots of exciting events.”

The group’s first official event will be held on the green opposite the train station on the Queen’s Jubilee Weekend on Sunday, June 3, from 10am to 4pm.